Lecture 1

 What is communication?
 What are the methods of communication?
 What factors should we consider while choosing the means of
communication?
 What are the key stages in the communication cycle?
 What are the barriers to communication?
 What are the various systems of communication?
 What are the principles of effective communication?
 What is oral communication?
 What are the guidelines for effective oral communication?

Now we shall address each of the above questions sequentially. In the first instance you will
know what is communication. In very simple words:
Communication is the giving, receiving or exchanging of information,
opinions, or ideas either by written, oral or visual media so that the
material communicated is understood by the relevant parties.
Now you will see that there are two major types of communication:
1. Internal communication
2. External communication

The internal communication could be either oral or written.

Oral methods of internal communication include telephone messages, meetings,
conferences, presentations, face-to-face communication, and etc.
The written methods of internal communication include memos, reports, graphs, notices,
forms, questionnaires, newsletters, and etc.

The external communication could also be either oral or written.

Oral methods of external communication include meetings, conferences, conversations, telephone
messages, presentations, and etc.
The written forms of external communication include leaflets, brochures, press releases,
advertisements, notices, reports, e-mails, faxes, letters and etc.

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Difference between internal and external communication:

If you are the sender of any communication, the factors that you should consider while selecting
a method of communication are:
 The cost of using the method;
 The confidentiality, safety and security you wish to ensure regarding the message;
 How important, complex, or urgent the message is;
 When and over what distance the message will travel;
 What resources you and the reader of the message have;
 Whether you want the message to carry more authority and create an impression and
influence upon the reader; and also
 Situation of the reader and the relationship you have with him/her.

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Communication cycle: You will see here that the communication cycle involves to phases
or stages. There are also at least two major parties involved in the communication cycle:

 The sender of the message; and

 The recipient of the message.
1] The first phase of the communication cycle starts with a sender who conceives a message to
communicate.
2] Then he/she encodes the message into a suitable form. This form could be written, oral,
visual or a combination of these.
3] Lastly, the sender selects the appropriate channel/method by which the message will be sent
to the reader/recipient. The message is then sent.
4] The second phase of the communication cycle starts with the recipient decoding the
message that he/she has received. By decoding we mean absorbing the message, for
example, if the message was encoded in written form then the recipient decodes the
message by reading it; again, if the message was encoded in oral form then the recipient
decodes the message by listening to it; again, if the message was encoded in visual form
then the recipient decodes the message by seeing it.
5] Then he/she interprets the message or makes out some sense of the message.
6] Lastly the recipient gives feedback to the sender regarding the message.

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Barriers to communication:
Now let us turn to the barriers to communication.
By barriers to communication we mean the
obstacles or problems in the way to effective communication. Among the barriers to
communication are:

 Non-verbal signals or body language by the sender or recipient of the message

 Language, which may be ambiguous or too specialized
 Distorted listening by the recipient of the message
 Pre-judgments held by the sender or recipient of the message
 Nature of relationship between the sender and recipient of the message
 Messages that involve emotion either on the part of the sender or recipient
 Lack of suitable systems to get the message across.
Communication systems:

We shall now turn to the communication systems. You should know that systems are interrelated
parts that make up a whole to do something. So you can understand:

Communication systems are interrelated parts in any organization

(individuals, departments, sections, posts, and etc.) that work together to
help complete communication effectively.

In short communication systems could be:

(A) Downward, that is, higher levels communicate to those below to give orders or instructions
(B) Upward, that is, the lower levels initiate the communicate to reach those at the higher levels
(C) Horizontal, that is, the communication between or among those who are in the same level
(D) Diagonal; that is, the communication between or among different departments, sections and
individuals to achieve a specific goal.

Apart from these ideal and established systems of communication, there could be another type of
communication in an organization. This is the grapevine. Grapevine is an unofficial
communication system which is constantly changing and which does not follow the established
lines of communication you have just read above. It results from distortions of truth, rumors and
gossip. Grapevine can cause much damage in the communication and activities of an organization.
It lowers morale, causes fear, distrust, and an unsettled condition among the workforce in an
organization. Therefore, the management of the organization should try its best to keep grapevine
limited.

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Principles of effective communication:
Now let us see what the principles of effective communication are:
 The first principle is to make sure you know “what the objective of the communication
is.”
 The second principle is to know “who will receive your communication.”
 The third principle is to know “under what circumstances you are communicating”
 The fourth and final principle is to have a good guess about “how the recipient will react
to the communication you have sent.”

Oral communication involves the exchange of ideas, opinions and information through
verbal means. Sometimes oral communication involves the sender of the message to speak
and the recipient only to listen. Often oral communication involves listening and speaking
on the part of both the sender and the recipient of messages.

Actually we spend most of the time communicating orally whether within the organization or
externally. Oral communication could take a variety of forms, such as:
Private discussions
Conversation
Oral instructions and orders
Gossip
Telephone conversation
Formal meetings
Informal meetings
Interviews
Oral presentations
Conferences/seminars
Effective oral communication should be planned. But there is possibility to make changes in the
approach of the oral communication, if necessary.

The following are the guidelines you have to follow to create effective oral communication:
 Decide what your message is to achieve.
 Select the important facts and figures to support your message.
 Identify the key points in your message and arrange them in order.
 Choose a style (facial expression, body stance) to express your message
 Take feedback while delivering the message and adjust the message, if necessary.
 Do not make your message unusually lengthy.
 End on a positive note.
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